Asian Stocks Hit 1-Month Highs, Techs Climb

CNBC Staff with Wires

Monday, 14 Jun 2010 | 7:49 AM ETCNBC.com

SHARES

Asian stocks rose to a one-month high on Monday, led by a rally in the technology sector, after semiconductor chipmakers last week gave positive news about demand, helping Wall Street recover early losses on Friday.

Japan's Nikkei average jumped 1.8 percent to close near a key resistance level as short-covering emerged on a sense the market had been oversold, with investors also taking heart from gains in the euro.

The benchmark Nikkei climbed 174.60 points to 9,879.85, its highest finish in about a week and almost matching its 25-day moving average of slightly above 9,880.

The broader Topix gained 1.4 percent to 878.56.

Chip-linked shares such as Advantest rose after U.S. peers gained on stronger-than-expected results by a major chipmaker that suggested improving demand, with strong U.S. consumer sentiment data reassuring investors about the health of the economy following an unexpected drop in retail sales.

The euro rose as far as $1.2207, before trading around $1.2175. It rose 0.4 percent to 111.70 yen.

Analysts said the impact of South Korean government forex controls announced on Sunday was muted.

"The impact (of the controls seems) to be limited and not very visible in the stock market, probably because they had been anticipated for some time," said Lee Sun-yeb, a market analyst at Shinhan Investment Corporation.

Shares in Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering advanced 2.41 percent after the world's No.2 shipyard said on Monday it had won a ship order worth 694.2 billion won from an unnamed European company.

Hang Seng Rises Above 20,000

Hong Kong stocks were up 1.1 percent on Monday after a jump in U.S. consumer confidence spurred a rally on Wall Street, but gains were capped by chart resistance from which the benchmark index has repeatedly backed away this month.

The Hang Seng Index chalked up 179.5 points at 20,051.91 in thin volume.

The China Enterprises Index of top locally listed mainland companies was up, with all constituents trading in the black.

Dongfeng Group, was the top performer, building on gains from Friday after the Chinese government extended a subsidy for replacing vehicles until the end of the year.